news 2022

A very small percentage of people with HIV-1, known as "post-treatment controllers” (PTCs), are able to control their infection after interrupting all antiretroviral therapy. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms that govern their immune response is essential in order to develop HIV-1 vaccines, novel therapeutic strategies to achieve remission, or both.

Researchers delve into the inner workings of the antibody immune response, finding key differences in the metabolism of two closely related immune cell subsets. Protection against viral diseases is a key role of our body's immune response, where antibodies are generated to seek out invading species and either neutralise or mark them for destruction.

For cancer patients, Covid-19 poses a particular risk due to their often compromised immune systems, weakened by therapy or disease, which is why vaccination is very important for their protection. Now, a recent study led by MedUni Vienna shows that, due to Omicron, there is an increasing number of breakthrough infections in people with cancer, especially while they are undergoing cancer therapy.

By comparing the infectious viral load caused by ancestral SARS-CoV-2 as well as by the Delta and Omicron variants, scientists from the University of Geneva and HUG highlight the benefits of vaccination. To conduct the research, the UNIGE and HUG team was able to reanalyze samples from previous waves of the disease.

The reasons why Covid-19 causes severe inflammation in some people, leading to acute respiratory distress and multi-organ damage, has been revealed in a new study involving a UCL scientist. Published in Nature , the study led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital (US) , found evidence that the virus might activate inflammasomes, large molecules that trigger a cascade of inflammatory responses that ends in cell death.

New developments in technology may provide tools to help patients and health care providers make cost-informed decisions and connect patients to additional resources if they cannot afford their prescribed medications, say University of Michigan researchers. A pair of new U-M studies uncovers the barriers that both patients and providers face in understanding the costs for prescription medications and medical tests.

UC San Diego researchers describe how key tumor proteins combine to suppress the immune response, making ovarian cancer among the toughest malignancies to treat; the findings may lead to new combinatorial strategies to treat this disease Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, with collaborators at La Jolla Institute for Immunology and elsewhere, have further elucidated how ovarian cancer tumors defy immunotherapy, identifying new molecular targets that might boost immune response.

If genetics is interested in gene sequencing, epigenetics studies how genes are going to be used, or not used, by a cell. The epigenome of a cell represents the set of chemical modifications of the DNA or associated proteins that will determine the expression of the genes and thus the cell's identity.

Science, Health & Technology Erik Rolfsen The risk of developing one of three serious eye conditions increases by 85 per cent for regular users of common erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and Stendra, new UBC research has found. Two of the three conditions had previously been linked to ED medications only by anecdotal case studies.

Lower Covid-19 vaccine uptake among Black ethnic groups in London compared to White British groups was driven by trust, including mistrust in the vaccine itself and in authorities administering it, according to research led by UCL. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Journal of Public Health, was undertaken by UCL researchers funded by National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) ARC North Thames, in collaboration with the Government's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as well as other London partners.

An algorithm built to assess scar patterns in patient heart tissue can predict potentially life-threatening arrhythmias more accurately than doctors can A new artificial intelligence-based approach can predict if and when a patient could die of cardiac arrest. The technology, built on raw images of patient's diseased hearts and patient backgrounds, significantly improves on doctor's predictions and stands to revolutionize clinical decision making and increase survival from sudden and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, one of medicine's deadliest and most puzzling conditions.

Licorice is more than a candy people either love or hate - it may play a role in preventing or treating certain types of cancer, according to researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago. Gnanasekar Munirathinam and his research team are studying substances derived from the licorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra to determine if they could be used to prevent or stop the growth of prostate cancer.

EU funds research project to elucidate pathological cardiac remodelling caused by cancer drugs with around 2.5 million euros 04. Heart failure is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. The disease, known in medicine as cardiac insufficiency, affects about four million people in Germany.

The preclinical data for a vaccine developed at MedUni Vienna to protect against SARS-CoV-2 indicates that it is effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants known to date, including omicron - even in those who have not yet built up any immunity as a result of vaccination (non-responders). The data from the study were recently published in the leading journal "Allergy".

While it's estimated that 1 in 3 Americans will develop a substance use disorder in their lifetime, experts know little about the long-term outcomes for people with substance use disorder symptoms from adolescence through adulthood. New University of Michigan research findings on the topic are grim: The majority of 18-year-olds with severe substance use disorder symptoms who were followed in a longitudinal study over 32 years still had multiple substance use disorder symptoms as adults, according to a new study from the U-M School of Nursing.

Global opioid sales increased by an estimated 4% annually from 2015 to 2019, but massive disparities in access to essential pain relief medications persist between countries, finds a study led by UCL researchers. Opioid use in some countries in Africa and South America was less than one tenth of 1% of the rates in wealthier countries in North America, Europe and Australia, according to the findings published in The Lancet Public Health .

The diagnosis is rare, but devastating - children with congenital muscle disorders often never learn to walk. Until now, there was no chance of recovery, but researchers at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel are now presenting a possible therapeutic approach for the first time. Professor Susan Treves remembers seeing one child affected by the condition at the age of six months.

Study shows how bioactive substance inhibits important receptor Study shows how bioactive substance inhibits important receptor Results from the University of Bonn raise hope for new drugs against cancer and brain diseases The A2A receptor regulates how vigorously the innate immune system attacks diseased cells.

Medicines can be printed in seven seconds in a new 3D-printing technique that could enable rapid on-site production of medicines, reports a UCL-led research team. The findings published in the journal, Additive Manufacturing , improve the prospects of how 3D printers could be integrated into fast-paced clinical settings for on-demand production of personalised medicines.

Every year in France, 140,000 people have a stroke 1 . Around 80% are ischemic strokes or cerebral infarctions, which occur when a brain artery is obstructed by a blood clot. Studies have shown that the risk of ischemic stroke is increased by the use of antipsychotics: medications with antidopaminergic 2 properties that are commonly prescribed in psychiatry.